Need a new CCW

[ArmyMedicMoose]

Beretta Nano 9mm

or

Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm

I know both pistols are off roster but which one should i buy.

[DT556]

I carry my Shield everyday and love it. It's the perfect carry gun.

[evidens83]

Glock 42

[ArmyMedicMoose]

Glock 42

I would never waste my time with a 380 by glock

[Cool Custard]

Xds in 9mm?

[AreWeFree]

I have no experience shooting either one, but have fondled the Nano and am still considering this one myself. It feels great, is very streamlined, and I really like the lack of external safety.

[drifter2be]

I've owned:

Ruger LC9
KelTec PF9
S&W Shield (9 & 40)
Walther PPS
Beretta Nano
Kahr CW9 and CM9
Sig P938
Kimber Solo
Taurus 709 slim
and probably one or two more that I am forgetting about

Of all of these guns listed I would stay away from these:

Kimber Solo (great trigger, but hugely unreliable unless running certain kinds of ammo)
Ruger LC9 (worst trigger of the bunch, copy of a Keltec that they managed to make worse than the original)
KelTec PF9 (slightly better trigger than the LC9, feels like a cheap toy, frame actually flexes when you grip it)
Taurus 709 (I've just had bad experiences with the Customer Service dept., gun itself was 100% reliable, interesting trigger system, felt like a Walther P99 in anti-stress mode)
Sig P938 (had massive issues with double-feeding on this gun I could never get sorted out, much too heavy trigger, all around too expensive for what you get)
Kahr CW9, (I know you guys in CA seem to love this one, most likely because it is on roster and the CM9 is not, but the CW9 is too big of a gun for year round CCW for me, what kills it is the grip length, I could conceal a G19 as easily as one of these, and end up with twice the capacity)

Of what remains, the Shield, Nano, PPS and CM9 you can't go wrong with any of them. It really comes down to which trigger you like the best. The CM9 is just by a hair the smallest of them all, the Nano being only slightly bigger, then the Shield and finally the PPS. The Shield is as close to a "Glock-style" trigger pull and reset as you are going to get in these guns, the rest will have resets close to fully releasing the trigger between shots. The CM9 has the smoothest of the triggers, feeling much like the trigger on my old S&W 642 Performance Center. The PPS is probably the prettiest of the bunch, at least in my opinion. I can't really speak ill of any of these choices.

My suggestion would be to find the trigger that suits you best followed by the one that feels right in your hand.

ninja edit: I had an XD-S in both 9mm and 45acp, hated the grip texture, though Talon grips helped with that. Still think the Shield slightly outpaces it, plus SA really dropped the ball on how they handled their recall.

[South Sac]

The Shield and XDs both fit well in my hand.

Two new videos from Nutnfancy-

[BigPimping]

The Nano seems to be popular. No carry permits issued where I am for any reason. I just see these things in LGS.

[Dee_Dub]

my vote shield 9

[ZombieTactics]

I am disturbed at how "CCW Pistol" has come to mean "pocket pistol" or sub-compact".

There is no particular reason why a Glock 17 or even a full-sized 1911 cannot be a "CCW Pistol".

[Treb5]

Shield

Shield is a good carry..

[raven290]

Consider a Springfield EMP if you can afford it. Great little gun. It's on roster if you want the 9mm.

[dracer]

I carry the shield , it is as big as I can carry iwb with comfort , my Glock 27 is just to wide

[ArmyMedicMoose]

I am disturbed at how "CCW Pistol" has come to mean "pocket pistol" or sub-compact".

There is no particular reason why a Glock 17 or even a full-sized 1911 cannot be a "CCW Pistol".

I have two other full size pistol on my CCW now

Glock 31 and a sig p226